tonight, the president said he es modestly optimistic about a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, which would mean avoiding automatic tax increases and spending cuts come january 1. the president spoke to the nation this evening after an hourlong meeting with congressional leaders at the white house. democrat and republican leaders have agreed to extend jobless benefits and some tax increases. they appear to remain deadlocked on who exactly will pay those higher taxes. wo have two reports tonight, beginning with major garrett at the white house. major, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, jeff. two things are clear tonight arat were not clear this morning: progress is real, and if a deal is reached, it will be ir smaller than any of the key players envisioned only a couple weeks ago. is this deal, if it's to be reached, will not be the so- called grand bargain with trillions of dollars of deficit lionction. in fact, jeff, it's not even clear this deal-- again, if there is one-- would stop the across-the-board spending cuts ulr the defense department and peher government programs. it looks